MLB | Redemption Season - The 2022 Houston Astros

The 2022 Houston Astros won 106 regular season games and went 11-2 in the postseason to win their second World Series title in franchise history. After all of the controversies surrounding the 2017 Astros, this season's title expelled the notion that Houston could only win a title by using illegal means. There is no denying the talent that the Astros have, both in their players on the field and the members of their organization who made it all possible. They may not have won the most games in Major League Baseball in 2022, but the Astros proved that they were the best team this season by winning it all. Let's take a look back at how the 2022 Houston Astros won the World Series. This video is brought to you by The Ridge Wallet. I had a chance to try out their wallet and key case, and they both have streamlined and easy to use designs. 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I'm not going to detail everything that went into the scandal itself, as I'm sure everyone is familiar with the broad picture, but Houston was charged with using cameras to capture signs put down by the catcher and in turn relaying them to the batter. In January of 2020, two months after the scandal was revealed, Major League Baseball suspended Astros GM Jeff Lunau and manager A.J. Hinch for one year, and both were fired by the Astros that same day. Houston lost their first and second round draft picks for 2020 and 2021, and were fined $5 million. Red Sox manager Alex Cora, Houston's bench coach in 2017, was fired by Boston, and the Mets let go of their new manager Carlos Beltran, who was a player for the Astros that year. Fans called for the 2017 title to be stripped from the team, and players around the league When fans returned to the stadiums in 2021 after a COVID-riddled 2020 season, the Astros would hear their displeasure as well. Despite many around the league stating that cheating was a league-wide problem, and that Houston was just the team that managed to get caught, the legacy around the 2017 championship team was tarnished forever. The only thing that would help restore the franchise's legacy and remove the stains surrounding them was not ALCS appearances or American League pennants, but another world championship. On January 29th, 2020, Houston hired baseball lifer Dusty Baker to be the team's new manager and bring calm to what would already be an abnormal season that would become more abnormal as the reality of COVID-19 set in. Baker had accomplished just about everything in his baseball career, but the one thing he hadn't done yet was win a championship. Despite all the outside noise and questions of legitimacy surrounding the team, the Astros made it to the ALCS in 2020 and the World Series in 2021. They were well on their way to winning another title, one that would be viewed by many as their first legitimate title in their history. The 2021 season ended with the Atlanta Braves beating the Astros in Game 6 of the World Series to win their first title since 1995. Houston was going home, now having lost the Fall Classic in 2019 to the Washington Nationals, and now 2021 following their 2017 victory. They faced serious questions going into the offseason, specifically regarding one of their franchise cornerstones in Carlos Correa and ace of the staff Justin Verlander, whom they were without for the entire season due to Tommy John surgery. Before the offseason truly began, Houston extended Dusty Baker's contract for him to manage the team in 2022. Correa had turned down Houston's five-year, $125 million extension before the 2021 season, as well as the five-year, $160 million contract that he was offered following the conclusion of the World Series. It was an easy decision for the 27-year-old superstar shortstop, who entered the market as one of the top position players available. With Correa seemingly set to get a payday somewhere else, the organization seemed set to give shortstop prospect Jeremy Pena a shot at the role going forward, who put up a .944 OPS during his injury-shortened 2021 season. The Astros then turned their attention to Verlander, who accepted Houston's one-year, $25 million contract with a player option for 2023. GM James Click remarked at the time that Verlander looked like that Justin Verlander who is a Hall of Famer and Cy Young winner. Click would turn out to be spot-on by season's end. Word of a possible lockout due to failing CBA negotiations had been looming all offseason, and as the reality of it started to intensify, the Astros signed reliever Hector Neres to a two-year, $17 million contract. Neres was viewed as a potentially elite arm who previously had a knack for giving up poorly and was brought in to replace deadline acquisition Kendall Graveman, who had signed with the White Sox. On December 2, 2021, the lockout officially began, as MLB and the Players Association could not reach an agreement regarding a new collective bargaining agreement. The owners implemented a defensive lockout as a tactic to speed up negotiations, citing that the Players Association's vision for baseball would threaten the ability of most teams to be competitive. With the owners attempting to put blame on the players for a lockout that they themselves implemented, fans knew that they were in for a long winter. Two months later, as holidays came and went, there was still virtually no progress in a resolution between the players and owners. It quickly became clear that spring training would not start on time, and that opening day was in jeopardy. The league had stated that they were willing to lose games, which would be detrimental to both sides, but most so for the fans. Near the end of February, their requests from both sides became public, which covered topics such as league minimum salary, competitive balance tax thresholds, draft pick compensations, arbitration pools and eligibility, service time manipulation, and anti-tanking measures. As these topics would hold up in agreement for another week, on March 1, opening day was officially postponed, as Rob Manfred announced that the first week of the regular season had been cancelled. The owners, having imposed a lockout on December 2 to jumpstart negotiations, had gone 43 days without negotiating, and now games were being cancelled. Baseball was in trouble in a way that had not been seen for nearly 25 years. As days went by, the hate for Rob Manfred and the owners grew, as well as distaste for the players, of which many viewed as selfish and out of touch with reality. March 9th hit, and opening day was postponed once again as CBA talks continued. Games were in danger of being missed, and not being made up. However, one day later, on March 10th, Major League Baseball and the Players Association announced that they had reached a new labor deal, and baseball was officially back. With the lockout having ended, free agency was waiting to explode with teams now being able to talk to players again. Players were moving quickly, and Houston stood relatively quiet as questions surrounding Carlos Correa began to resurface on whether there would be a reunion. The answer would be no. On March 19th, Correa agreed to a three-year, $105 million contract with the Minnesota Twins, in what would be the highest average annual value for an infielder. Correa's Houston tenure was over, as the Astros lost another core piece of their 2017 championship team. The path for top prospect Jeremy Pena was now clear. Spring training is typically the time for excitement and optimism, but Houston's 2017 curse came back to attention again on March 31st, when Yankees GM Brian Cashman stated that the only thing that stopped the Yankees in 2017 was something that was so illegal and horrific, in response to a comment about New York not having made the World Series Cashman's comments lit up baseball fans once again, with one side in support of Cashman, and the other stating that the Yankees would still have to beat the Dodgers in the World Series that year, and it was the Yankees offense that lost them the ALCS in 2017, not the pitching, which would have suffered because of Houston's cheating. The event was another reminder that the cloud of the scandal was not going away without winning another title. Just before opening day on April 7th, Houston extended their closer Ryan Presley, who was set to become a free agent after the season. The two-year extension with a vesting option for 2025 would be the Astros' final move before the season started. The 2022 season did not start out as expected for the Astros, who finished April with an 11-10 record, tied with the Mariners for second in the AL West. Houston was towards the middle of the league in most offensive and pitching categories, with some players off to slow starts getting back into the rhythm of the season. You could call Houston's April, for lack of a better term, mid. They struggled to find consistency in the early going, dropping close games, and losing in blowouts. The inconsistent start for Houston and for teams around the league was chalked up to having a shortened spring training, which left players with less time to prepare for the season. The Astros also only played 6 games at home during the month, compared to 15 road games. Despite some early overreactions, an 11-10 April was nothing to panic about, as the calendar turned to May. As much as fans wanted to buy in to April results, the Astros quickly showed that the outlook on a season can change in a matter of a week. May began with Dusty Baker collecting his 2000th career managerial win with a 4-0 victory over Seattle at home. Dusty became the 12th manager to reach the milestone, with the last remaining accomplishment on his list being a World Series title. Houston completed a sweep of the Mariners the next day to move to 14-11, but that would just be the start of the turnaround from April. A week later, Houston would move their win streak up to 8 games behind 7-1 hitless innings by Justin Verlander. As the win streak stretched to 10, it was evident that the Astros' run was made possible by their elite starting rotation, comprised at this point of Verlander, Ferimba Valdez, Christian Javier, Luis Garcia, Jose Urquidy, and Jake Odorizzi. Valdez pitched 7-2 against Washington to give Houston their 11th straight victory, and in the process moving them to first in the AL West with a half-game lead over the Angels. In two weeks' time, Houston had jumped to the top of the division, where they would stay for the remainder of the season. They added to their bench with a trade from Mauricio Dubon, the offense was coming alive, and they had MLB's best starter and reliever ERA during the streak. Christian Javier looked like another incredible arm in the making, Rafael Montero was turning into an elite bullpen arm, and Justin Verlander was proving the doubters wrong in his comeback tour from Tommy John. On May 2nd, the Astros sat three and a half games behind first place, and now they had a lead in the division. One storyline this season was how Jeremy Peña would fare as Carlos Correa's replacement, and to this point he was exceeding all expectations. Through April and May, Peña had compiled 1.7 war, good for a top 10 in the American League. Matching him was his teammate Yordan Alvarez, who was among the league leaders in most offensive categories. Ferimba Valdez threw a complete game, and the Houston lineup hit 5 homers in one inning in a game against Boston. The team was starting to fire on all cylinders, and sat at 32-18 at the end of May, and had a 5-game lead over the Angels in the division. June started with a bang for Houston, who pulled off a 4-run 9th inning to cap a 5-4 win over the A's, after Justin Verlander threw 6-2 hitless innings. Outside of Yuli Gurriel, the Astros lineup was doing the job most nights, and their reliever core of Rafael Montero, Hector Nariz, Ryan Stanek, and Ryan Presley gave Houston one of the best bullpens in Major League Baseball. A few days later, the Astros signed slugger Yordan Alvarez to a 6-year, $115 million contract extension, buying out 3 free agent years and giving him the largest contract ever for a DH. Houston had locked up their best hitter on a team-friendly contract for the production that Alvarez can provide. The Astros hit a quick road bump, dropping 3 straight before getting back on track against Texas. Luis Garcia and Phil Maton combined to make baseball history by each throwing one immaculate inning in the same game, both against the exact same 3 hitters. Their next test was a New York gauntlet, it was 6 games against the Mets and Yankees. Houston swept a red-hot Mets team at home before heading across town to the Bronx to open a 4-game set with the other hot New York team. The Yankees proved to be a greater threat, pulling off a 4-run 9th inning against Ryan Presley and Ryan Stanek, completing a Houston bullpen meltdown and stealing game 1. The Astros proved that they were able to overcome adversity by winning the next day thanks to Justin Verlander and Kyle Tucker. And the bullpen got its revenge by throwing a combined no-hitter in the 3rd game behind a dominant starting performance by Christian Javier. The Astros dropped the final game thanks to more heroics by Aaron Judge, setting up what would be an entertaining postseason matchup in October should it come to that. Houston finished off the month by sweeping the Mets again in a 2-game series, this time at Citi Field, behind another strong Justin Verlander performance and timely hitting by backup catcher Jason Castro, before beating the Yankees once again in a lockout-caused make-up game. The Astros went 7-2 against both New York teams, who were both among the best in baseball. They finished June at 48-27, first in the AL West, and had opened an 11.5-game lead on the Texas Rangers. Houston's young rising stars came out big in July, as Christian Javier outdueled Shohei Otani with a 7-inning, 14-strikeout performance. Jeremy Pena walked off the Angels a few days later with a multi-homer game, backing frame Rivaldez's 13th straight quality starter. Jordan Alvarez gave the Astros their second straight walk-off homer victory with a blast against Kansas City, capping off another Houston comeback. They won their 8th straight game the following day, as another win streak was widening their division lead. Houston hobbled into the break after stumbling a bit at 59-32 with a 9-game lead over Seattle, ranking among the top three teams in all of baseball between their offense, pitching, and defense. Fran Rivaldez picked up the all-star game win for the American League with a scoreless inning before the Astros went back home and beat the Yankees in both games with a double header to come out of the break, finishing 5-2 against them on the year. They went on to finish the month by sweeping the White Hot Mariners in a 3-game set, snapping their 14-game winning streak, and taking 3 out of 4 against them at home in between a rare 3-game sweep at the hands of Oakland. The Astros finished July at 67-36, 12 games up on Seattle. With the trade deadline approaching, the Astros made several moves on August 1st to improve their juggernaut of a team, first making a move to acquire Trey Mancini from the Orioles in a three-team trade, sending Jose Siri to the Rays. They then traded for Christian Vasquez from Boston in the hopes of getting more offensive production from the catcher position. Their final trade before the deadline was a deal that sent starter Jake Odorizzi to Atlanta in exchange for reliever Will Smith, opening up a rotation slot for when Lance McCullers Jr. was set to return from injury. Houston's strong rotation went back to work with performances from Jose Orquide, Fran Rivaldez, and Justin Verlander, who had planted himself firmly as a frontrunner for the Cy Young Award. Outside of a few bullpen meltdowns, when the pitching couldn't get it done, the offense more than made up for it, part of which thanks to Alex Bregman, whose offensive game was getting back to his career norm after battling injuries the past few years. The Astros had largely been healthy all season, with the exception of Jordan Alvarez missing some time and the expected loss of Lance McCullers Jr., but that changed when it was announced that Michael Brantley would have season-ending shoulder surgery. The injury began to expose a Houston lineup that was very top-heavy and relied on a core of Jose Altuve, Pena, Alvarez, Bregman, and Kyle Tucker. Houston would then have to tap into the depth of the organization to keep the offensive line moving. Luckily, the pitching continued to dominate, as Lance McCullers Jr. returned to throw six shutout in his first start since the 2021 ALDS. A few bullpen meltdowns against the White Sox served as some bumps in the road, but They did lose Justin Verlander to injury on August 29th, but long-term concerns were quickly resolved, and Houston finished August at 84-47 with an 11.5-game lead over Seattle. With the final month of the regular season upon them, Houston called up top-pitching prospect Hunter Brown to make his first career start, despite having a staff of six starters who had put up the American League's best starting pitching ERA at 3.04. Brown threw six shutout innings in his debut against the Rangers, truly giving Houston an embarrassment of riches when it came to pitching. Rambo Valdez and Christian Javier continued to dominate, and Justin Verlander helped the Astros clinch a postseason spot on September 16th in his return from the injured list. Houston now held the AL's best record due to their consistent play and the Yankees' all-around collapse in July and August. Two days later, Rambo Valdez threw his 25th consecutive quality start, a new MLB single-season record. The Astros clinched the AL West a few days later behind Luis Garcia and Hunter Brown. Houston finished up the regular season strong, as Justin Verlander cemented himself as the Cy Young favorite with five hitless innings in his 18th win of the season. Kyle Tucker hit his 30th home run, joining the 30-homer-20 steals club on the season. Rambo Valdez closed out the final game of the season, as Houston beat the Phillies 3-2. The Astros didn't know it yet, but they would finish both the regular season and the postseason by beating the Phillies at home, both with Valdez on the mound. They finished the 2022 regular season at 106-56, winning the AL West by 16 games over the Seattle Mariners with the American League's best record. Houston was a juggernaut heading into the postseason. The new postseason format for 2022 and beyond made it so that Houston gained a first-round bye for having the best record in the AL. The Yankees, the team with the second-best record, got the bye on the other side of the Houston now got to sit and watch the new wild-card round on their side between the Toronto Blue Jays and the Seattle Mariners, awaiting the winner to play in the indivision series. The Mariners swept the Blue Jays in two games, including a dramatic comeback in the second game to make it to the ALDS for the first time since 2001, which was also their last postseason appearance. Many wondered how a long layoff would affect upper-seeded teams that had received byes, and the Mariners jumped all over Justin Verlander in Game 1 to support those concerns. Seattle opened up a 4-0 lead in the second, before Jordan Alvarez cut the lead in half with a two-run double. Verlander would still struggle to get settled in and allowed two more runs in the fourth to make it 6-2, and Verlander would depart after four innings having allowed six runs on ten hits, while only striking out three. Yuli Gurriel would get a run back in the bottom half of the inning, but Houston still trailed after Seattle extended their lead in the seventh to make it 7-3. With the strong Mariners' bullpen going to work, it seemed that Seattle had managed to snag Game 1 from the Astros in Houston. But the Astros' offense was not done yet, as Alex Bregman made it 7-5 in the eighth inning with a two-run homer off of Seattle's top relief weapon, Andres Munoz. Munoz still managed to finish the inning, and the Mariners sent their closer Paul Seawald to the mound to finish off a Game 1 win. Seawald recorded two outs with a hit-by-pitch in between, before Jeremy Pena singled to keep the game alive and bring the winning run to the plate in Jordan Alvarez. Mariners manager Scott Servais opted to take his closer out of the game in favor of struggling lefty starter Robbie Ray, who was coming off a sciong season but got hit around in his playoff start in Toronto and had allowed 32 home runs during the regular season, second in the American League to Garrett Cole's 33. Servais opted for the left-on-left matchup with Alvarez, despite the fact that Jordan had hit .321 with a .997 OPS against lefties during the regular season. It took just two pitches for Alvarez to crush a 93-mph sinker into the second deck and right field for a dramatic, game-winning, three-run walk-off homer to snatch Game 1 back from the Mariners and set the tone for the rest of the series. Kyle Tucker opened the scoring in Game 2 off of Luis Castillo, giving the Astros a 1-0 lead, but the Mariners would come back to take the lead after a Frambois Valdez throwing error and a Dylan Moore go-ahead single. It would stay that way until the 6th when Houston would get to Luis Castillo again. After a Jeremy Pena bloop hit brought Jordan Alvarez up again with a chance to give the Astros the lead, Alvarez crushed an opposite-field go-ahead homerun to make it 3-2 in the 6th. The Houston bullpen would navigate in and out of jams to keep the lead intact, and Alex Bregman beat Andres Munoz for the second straight night to make it 4-2. The bullpen locked down a Game 2 win in a series that very easily could have been 2-0 in favor of the Mariners, now had Houston in the driver's seat heading back to Seattle. Game 3 would turn out to be a pitcher's duel between Lance McCullers Jr. and George Kirby in front of a rocking Seattle crowd. The game would remain scoreless through 9 innings and would head into extras. As the 13th inning came and went, Dusty Baker turned the starter Luis Garcia out of the bullpen to keep Seattle off the board. Julio Rodriguez would keep the game scoreless in the 16th with an incredible diving catch to rob Yuli Gurriel, but another rookie star would strike at the top of the 18th. On a 3-2 pitch leading off the inning, Jeremy Pena hit a solo homerun to put Houston ahead after 17 scoreless innings. Luis Garcia would shut the door on Seattle's playoff run, and after four games worth of play, the Astros were 3-0 in the playoffs and were headed for the ALCS, where they would await either the Cleveland Guardians or the New York Yankees. From the moment the two teams played in some incredible regular season games, it seemed like the Yankees and Astros were on a crash course for the ALCS, a rematch of 2017 and 2019 for the American League pennant. Houston had prevailed in both series, but there was always going to be the question of how much help they had, if any. The Yankees had a chance to prove themselves against their new rival in this series. New York started out strong in Game 1, with Aaron Judge keeping things scoreless with a great diving catch, and Harrison Bader giving them an early 1-0 lead with a monster home run off of Justin Verlander. Martim Aldonado doubled to tie things up at one, and Verlander rebounded to deliver six strong innings, striking out 11 and keeping the game tied. Then, the Astros' home run barrage began, as Yuli Gurriel, Chaz McCormick, and Jeremy Pena each hit solo homers to put Houston up 4-1 heading into the 8th inning. The insurance runs proved to be needed, as Anthony Rizzo cut the lead to 2 with a solo homer. Ryan Presley came in to escape a jam to end the inning, and closed down a Game 1 win for Houston. The Astros turned to Frambois Valdez in Game 2, looking to give Houston a 2-game lead going to New York. With the roof open, Alex Bregman started things in the 3rd with a 3-run homer to give Houston the lead off of Luis Severino. In the 4th, the Yankees would get a chance to score thanks to another throwing error The score would stay that way into the 8th, even after Aaron Judge hit a long fly ball that looked like he would flip the lead over before the wind and Kyle Tucker knocked it down at the wall. Brian Abreu escaped the 8th by striking out Giancarlo Stanton, and Ryan Presley shut things down in the 9th again with a curveball to Matt Carpenter. The Astros headed into Yankee Stadium with all the confidence in the world, even with having to face Garrett Cole, who had turned in two dominant outings in the postseason already. Chaz McCormick greeted him in the 2nd inning with a line drive that just barely cleared the short porch and right, giving Houston a quick 2-0 lead. Christian Javier would turn in 5 scoreless, holding a Yankee lineup that he previously no hit to just one hit with 5 strikeouts. The Astros extend their lead in the 5th and 6th and make it 5-0, and Rafael Montero ended the biggest Yankee threat of the night in the 8th inning, getting Aaron Judge to ground out on a pitch that ended a foot inside on the plate. Brian Abreu closed things out with a strikeout of Josh Donaldson, giving the Astros a commanding 3-0 lead. Of course, only one team has overcome a 3-0 series deficit, so the Yankees certainly had their past failure on their mind as hope heading into Game 4. They started off strong, scoring 3 times in the first inning to give themselves a 3-0 lead. But the lead would not last long, as Jeremy Pena launched another epic postseason home run, a 3-run shot to tie the game in the 3rd off of Nestor Cortez. Yuli Gurriel would give the Astros the lead later in the inning, but Anthony Rizzo would The Astros would turn to their bullpen, and Hector Nares surrendered a go-ahead home run to Harrison Bader in the 6th. Trailing 5-4 heading into the top of the 7th, the Astros comeback started thanks to an error by the Yankees' middle infield. Back-to-back singles by Yoran Alvarez and Alex Bregman gave Houston a 6-5 lead and put themselves in line for another trip to the World Series. Ryan Presley put on the finishing touches in the 9th, retiring Aaron Judge to send Houston back to the Fall Classic. Their 4th appearance in 6 seasons, and making them 3-3 in the ALCS against the Yankees. Houston again had a chance to finish off another championship, having slayed the Yankees once again on their redemption tour. The 118th World Series would open up at Minute Maid Park, with the Astros set to take on a red-hot Philadelphia Phillies team that seemed to be fueled by destiny, similar to the Atlanta Braves run from the previous season that the Astros were all too familiar with. Bryce Harper was on a historic tear, and Philadelphia had upset the Cardinals, Braves, and Padres to make it to the Fall Classic. Houston's dominant pitching would have a tall task ahead of them to try and quiet the Phillies' deep and powerful lineup. The Astros would send Justin Verlainer to the mound in Game 1, and Aaron Noah would take the ball for the Phillies. Kyle Tucker got things started in the 2nd with a solo home run after being relatively quiet in the ALCS. Martim Aldonado would add another with an RBI single, giving Houston a 2-0 lead after two innings. Things started off strong for Verlainer, who retired the first 9 batters he faced at this point. In the 3rd, Tucker struck again, this time with a 3-run homer that would open up a 5-0 Astros lead on his 2nd home run of the game. With Verlainer cruising and the Houston offense off to a fast start against one of the Phillies' aces, the game looked like it could get out of hand quickly. However, the wheels started to fall off for Verlainer in the 4th, who will have 4 hits and 3 runs against the middle of the Phillies' lineup, and quickly the lead was back to 2. He would escape a jam to end the inning, but Philadelphia would get right back to work in the 5th, as a JT Real Muto double tied things up at 5, and suddenly the momentum had shifted. Things would remain tied, aided by a clutch sliding catch from Nick Castellanos to rob Jeremy Pena of a walk-off single and send things to extras. Just like with the extra inning game in Seattle, the Astros would turn to Luis Garcia for the 10th, who allowed a lead-off home run to JT Real Muto to give the Phillies a 6-5 lead. Houston would have their chance in the bottom half thanks to an Alex Bregman double to put the tying run in scoring position, but David Robertson struck out Kyle Tucker, and thanks to Aled Mis-Diaz's best efforts to do anything other than hit, Houston came up short in Game 1. It was their first loss of the postseason, and the pressure was on them to not go down 0-2, having lost both of the games at home. The Astros responded quickly in Game 2, opening up against Zach Wheeler with 3 straight doubles to jump out to a 2-0 lead. They added another in the first thanks to the Phillies' defense, something that had plagued them all season. Rambo Valdez went to work, carving up the Phillies for 6 innings and striking out 9. Alex Bregman padded the lead with a 2-run homer, and Houston once again held a 5-0 lead. The Phillies began to chip away, but ultimately came up short on a ball that just went foul off the bat of Kyle Schwarber. Houston survived a few rare defensive miscues from their infield, and Ryan Pressley closed out a Game 2 win, sending the series to Philadelphia all tied up at 2. The calendar turned to November for Game 3, thanks to a rainout on Halloween night in Philly. Lance McCullers Jr. took the mound for Houston, and proceeded to give up 7 runs in 4 1⁄3 innings, all from home run balls. McCullers became the first pitcher in World Series history to give up 5 home runs in an outing, leading critics to turn to Dusty Baker and wonder why he was left in the game so long. Regardless, Rangers Suarez shut down the Houston offense for 5 innings, and the Phillies took Game 3 with a comfortable 7-0 win. The pressure started to mount for Houston, who needed to win a game in Philly to send the series back to Houston. Some of their top hitters such as Jose Altuve and Jordan Alvarez had stopped hitting in the World Series, and now two members of their vaunted rotation had collapsed. They needed a shutdown outing from Christian Javier and the lineup to beat Aaron Noah once again. They got just that, as Javier threw 6 hitless innings, and the Houston hitters scored 5 times in the top of the 5th, aided by a bases-loaded hit by Pitch and a 2-run double by Alex Bregman. The bullpen took over, as Brian Abreu and Rafael Montero threw a hitless 7th and 8th inning to keep the combined no-hit bid going. Brian Presley took the mound on the 9th, and got the final 3 outs to record the Astros' 2nd combined no-hitter of the season, both as a result of strong outings from Christian Javier and the 2nd World Series no-hitter, the first since Don Larson's in Game 5 of the 1956 World Series. More importantly, Houston had tied up the series at 2 games apiece, and now guaranteed themselves a trip back home. The Astros sent Justin Verlander into the mound in Game 5, looking to redeem himself after his rough Game 1 outing. He was staked to a 1-0 lead thanks to Jeremy Pena in the first, but it quickly disappeared as Kyle Schwerber crushed the 2nd pitch Verlander threw to tie things up. But 3 innings later, Pena struck again, taking Noah Sindegar deep to put the Astros back on top, giving Verlander a chance to earn his first career World Series win. He went 5 strong innings, striking out 6 and allowing no more runs following the Schwerber blast. The bullpens held firm until the 8th, when Houston added a run on a ground ball that Rhys Hoskins couldn't come up with. The strong Astros bullpen would struggle in the 8th, however, as Gene Segura made it a one-run game with a chance for more. Dusty Baker called on Ryan Presley, and Kyle Schwerber stung a ball to Trey Mancini, who came into the game after replacing Uli Gurriel following a collision. Mancini made the play to end the inning, keeping the lead intact. The defense shined again in the 9th, as Pennsylvania native Chaz McCormick made an incredible catch Presley shut the door on Game 5, and sent the series back to Houston with a chance at a title, and Frambois Valdez on the mound. Just like 2021, Game 6 of the World Series would be played in Houston, but this time with the Astros leading the series 3 games to 2. Frambois Valdez matched Zach Wheeler with 5 scoreless innings and 8 strikeouts, giving up just one hit. He would make one mistake to lead off the 6th, as Kyle Schwerber hit another home run to put the Phillies on the board first in a win or go home game. Things were going well for Zach Wheeler, before he hit Martin Maldonado with a pitch and gave up a one-out single to Jeremy Pena to put runners on the corners, with Jordan Alvarez coming up. Jordan had been cold all series, and rather than stick with his ace who had been cruising, Phillies manager Rob Thompson elected for one of his relief aces in Jose Alvarado. But just as Scott Service of the Mariners would find out, Jordan Alvarez crushes left-handed pitching just as well as anyone. He parked a 99mph sinker from Alvarado over the batter's eye in centerfield for an epic go-ahead home run, giving the Astros a 3-1 lead and turning the game upside down. Houston would add an insurance run later in the inning against the Phillies' other relief ace in Cernuthin Dominguez, and there was almost no doubt Houston's incredible bullpen would hold. Hector Neres and Brian Abreu cruised through the 7th and 8th inning, and Ryan Presley took the mound to close things out. With two outs and a runner at first, Nick Castellanos popped up the first pitch he saw from Ryan Presley into foul territory, and Kyle Tucker made the catch to secure Houston's second World Series title, completing the journey for redemption and capping off a dominant postseason run. The Houston Astros were world champions. The Astros had redeemed themselves in the eyes of many. No longer was there any question about the legitimacy or existence of their most recent title. A weight had been lifted from the organization, and for many members of the team, it was their first taste of a title. Dusty Baker, after countless years in baseball, had finally achieved his World Series title that had eluded him. Cancer survivor Trey Mancini collected his first ring. Jeremy Pena was named both the ALCS and World Series MVP for his postseason heroics in his rookie season. Most importantly, members of the 2017 team, Jose Altuve, Alex Bregman, Yuli Gurriel, Lance McCullers Jr., and Justin Verlander, all now had a title not tainted by controversy. Depending on your perspective, the 2022 championship may not absolve the 2017 group of anything, but you can't deny the dominance and legitimacy of this year's team. Top to bottom, the group got contributions from everywhere in the lineup, either at the plate or in the field. Jordan Alvarez was 2-for-19 in the World Series before he hit the game-winning home run in Game 6. Fran Bervaldez collected two wins in the series, throwing 12 in the 3rd innings, allowing two runs with 18 strikeouts. Ryan Presley appeared in 10 postseason games, recording 6 saves with 13 strikeouts and allowing no earned runs. Jeremy Pena hit .345 in the postseason with 4 home runs. The Astros were the best team in baseball, and they now had the achievement to prove it. With the championship, the Astros truly cemented themselves as today's baseball dynasty. The string of postseason runs ending in the ALCS or World Series speaks to their front office and strengths as an organization. Because of their ability to develop and revive players, this team is not going anywhere anytime soon. Houston was a top 5 team in just about every offensive category in the American League. They had the best pitching in the league, both in the starting rotation and in the bullpen. Justin Verlander won the Cy Young. Fran Bervaldez and Christian Javier have developed into aces. Jordan Alvarez is an MVP candidate. Add that to the list of established stars such as Jose Altuve, Alex Bregman, and Kyle Tucker. Their defense was also a major strength of the team. Houston survived losing George Springer. They survived losing Carlos Correa. This winter they faced major question marks surrounding the future of Justin Verlander, Yuli Gurriel, Michael Brantley, along with other players and members of the front office, including GM James Click. No matter what happens with these members of the organization during the offseason, the Houston Astros have proved that they can win it all with elite talent and a top tier organization. Thank you all for watching. The story of this team cannot be told without mentioning what happened in 2017, but what the Astros have accomplished this year shouldn't be minimized or diminished by past controversy. To Astros fans, I hope I did your championship run justice from an outsider's perspective. Please understand that I did not follow this team as closely as you all did, but I hope I covered the best moments this season had to offer. I want to give a big thank you to the Crawfishboxes, an Astros blog whose articles I pulled countless times as I attempted to recap a season that I didn't follow every single day. Thank you all again for watching, and here's to baseball in 2023.